When diversity in marketing is more important than ever to cut through the noise and get your message heard, marketers and Millennials are still choosing print.

Reliable – You can count on print

In today’s business climate there is a growing need to mix up your marketing channels. From social media to email marketing to direct mail campaigns, you need to hit your target audience right where they are and having a mixed bag of marketing helps you accomplish that. However, with all the new methods of marketing, there is still the problem of delivery. Will your email message get through the spam filters? Will your social media message reach the right audience? There is only one marketing method that almost guarantees delivery, and that is print. This is just one reason why this old-school method is still being used by Millennials. It is trackable and you know it will be delivered.

Trust – Paper equals trust

Millennials grew up with almost every media channel at their disposal: print, television, radio, digital, social etc. Consequently, they are more critical and adept at ignoring what they don’t want to see. Millennials ignore digital advertising, and instead pay the greatest attention to direct mail and print advertising, according to a recent study on Millennials. “Millennials are digitally-savvy, and much less trusting of the content consumed. Personal and important documents are valued in print.”

Safe – Print gives you a break from the stress and strain of digital

Millennials also turn to print as an escape from ‘screen overload’. With the plethora of apps and networks on our devices, we have information overload and get burned out. Print offers a refreshing alternative.

According to Daniel Dejan of Sappi North America, “When you reach that point of digital information overload — whether you realize it or not — even younger demographics will seek out printed materials. Secondly, neuroscientific research explains why people are still attracted to print as a medium. When we read ink on paper, we stimulate four senses (the smell, sound, feel, and sight of the paper). The more senses we stimulate, the more value we put in the content, and the more we retain the information.”

Millennials will use print to complement their digital consumption, whereas older demographics use digital to complement print. A recent study found that an overwhelming 92% of college students surveyed said they prefer reading in print over any form of online media. Respondents explained physical printed pieces offer fewer distractions and eye strain/headaches.

Emotion – Print is emotional and evocative

The most effective messages in print are those that evoke emotion. Research has found that if forced to choose, millennials would rather receive a birthday card in the mail than via email (87%); they preferred personal correspondence for special occasions to be in print form.

There is a comfort component as well, picking up the mail and reading it is somewhat ritualized and a reminder of childhood for many Millennials

Experiential – Millennials have a powerful attachment to paper

Contrary to popular belief, millennials are not screen-obsessed. The physicality of print offers an escape from laptops and computers. Students, especially, have expressed reluctance in giving up analog media for digital alternatives. Recent studies revealed that 92% of college students in the US preferred paper books over their digital counterpart, preferring a hard copy book over reading on a screen for long periods of time.

Bottom line

Print has a strong resonance with today’s digital generation, but the information they want print media to contain has changed to be intrinsically motivated. Millennials engage with advertising that looks good, evokes an emotional response, and, ultimately, benefits them, i.e. comes from a preferred brand or offers an incentive.

The key for print marketing in 2019 is to design and invest in engaging marketing and truly extraordinary print pieces. Let the creatives do their jobs to creative appealing, irresistible, and compelling marketing print collateral.